“Heal Your Heart” Author Takes Things One Step Further
Posted: June 9, 2010 Filed under: books about cats dogs and animals, grief, pet loss | Tags: aplb, association for pet loss and bereavement, heal your heart, karen litzinger, pet bereavement, pet loss, pet loss counseling Leave a comment
Karen Litzinger
Last year author Karen Litzinger turned her grief at the loss of her two dogs into an award-winning CD and network of resources.
Now, after completing a specialized training course through the Association for Pet Loss and Bereavement (APLB) in May, Karen, already a Licensed Professional Counselor, also offers a unique counseling service specifically for pet bereavement through Heal from Pet Loss.
“I’m excited to move in this direction following producing the Heal Your Heart CD,” Karen says. “In addition to helping people with the depth of their loss at a delicate time, it will help me continue to help others by hearing stories of pet loss grief.”
She completed an internship with the APLB as an online chat room counselor supervised by a psychologist in order to renew her certification with the American Academy of Bereavement as a Certified Bereavement Facilitator. The APLB is the leading major organization in the United States that offers multiple opportunities for pet owners to seek support, like the chat room service founded in 1998.
Karen, Pepper and Zep
Karen is the only pet loss counselor in the Western Pennsylvania region to complete the specialized instruction and receive the APLB Certificate of Training and is one of only four counselors in Pennsylvania with this training. The APLB, founded in 1997, is the only major organization in the United States that offers a pet loss and bereavement training program operated by a clinical psychologist.
A widening circle of people are finding their pets are increasingly important to family life, and are no longer viewed as “just the dog or cat”, but rather as a member of the family. This makes pet loss more difficult, but the associated grief more accepted. Still, many people don’t understand the depth of grief, and support can be hard to come by. Karen’s pet bereavement counseling practice aims to help the healing process for individuals and families.
Karen started her career over 20 years ago, and founded Litzinger Career Consulting in 2002. She decided to expand her practice following the production of her recently released Heal Your Heart: Coping with the Loss of a Pet, a CD and accompanying booklet insert designed to guide pet owners through the process of grieving their deceased pet.
Heal Your Heart wins two book awards
Heal Your Heart: Coping With the Loss of a Pet
In addition, Heal Your Heart recently won the 2010 Pinnacle Award for Best Book in the Category of Animals and Pets in April, as well as the 2010 National Indie Excellence Award for Audio Book Non-Fiction in May.
Following the death of her two dogs within four months of each other, Karen was inspired to create the CD to assist others on the pet loss journey through healing affirmations and practical strategies. She has initiated a non-denominational animal blessing service for a local church and has conducted memorial services as well as working with local shelters in organizing events, such as Pet Parents’ Day for WPHS. Karen has also been a guest on local and national pet-oriented radio talk shows.
More information on counseling services and the CD including reviews and excerpts as well as further resources for healing from pet loss can be found at www.HealFromPetLoss.com.
In addition, I had the honor and opportunity to illustrate the Heal Your Heart CD and Karen and I became friends through this project. I listened to the CD repeatedly in order to adequately illustrate its content, and I can attest to its effectiveness as I was losing my Namir at that time.
I’ve written about Karen and her CD numerous times on The Creative Cat, so please browse these articles:
Heal Your Heart After Pet Loss, a Remarkable CD and Guidebook
To love that well, which thou must leave ‘ere long
Heal Your Heart: Coping With the Loss of a Pet
Karen Litzinger, “Heal Your Heart” Are Featured on Pittsburgh’s Talkin Pets
Posted: March 3, 2010 Filed under: heal your heart CD, pet loss | Tags: aplb, association for pet loss and bereavement, cozy inn pet resort, heal your heart, karen litzinger, kqv radio, pet loss, pittsburgh's talkin pets 2 Comments
Karen Litzinger
Karen Litzinger, author of the CD/guidebook Heal Your Heart: Coping With the Loss of a Pet, will be the featured guest this Thursday for the nationally streamed radio show, Pittsburgh’s Talkin Pets on KQV AM 1410.
Heal Your Heart features Karen, a Licensed Professional Counselor and a Certified Bereavement Facilitator, reading comforting messages, pet-focused affirmations, and even a guided meditation along with comforting accompanying harp music. The booklet provides supportive suggestions, information explaining the stages of grief and resources such as books and hotlines to assist the grieving person.
In addition to introducing the audience to her CD and discussing how she authored and produced it, Karen will discuss pet loss in general with the hosts. This will be her first appearance, but she will be a featured guest in the future as well.
The weekly radio show covers many topics and is hosted by Nan Cohen of KQV and Carol Boerino-Croft of Cozy Inn Pet Resort and Orchid Spa. Pittsburgh’s Talkin Pets is at 8:00 PM (usually 8:30, and the station website still reflects this) and is scheduled for rebroadcast on Saturday at 3:30 PM. You can listen to the audio stream from any location at www.kqv.com.
Heal Your Heart: Coping With the Loss of a Pet
Heal Your Heart was recently reviewed by the prestigious Spirituality and Health Magazine, March-April issue.
Also, in April, Heal From Pet Loss is teaming up with Color Me Mine paint your own pottery studio in Squirrel Hill to host a creative fundraiser for the Western Pennsylvania Humane Society in recognition of National Pet Parents Day, hosting a painting party on Sunday, April 25.
Karen will also be a featured speaker at the Association for Pet Loss and Bereavement Conference in May. She will be delivering a Guilt and Pet Loss Overview, as she describes:
Guilt is often a natural part of the grieving process. Because of our role as caretaker to a dependent animal, guilt can be even more significant in pet loss than with other losses. Whether we have made real or perceived mistakes, many of us can become stuck in an unforgiving grip of guilt. By understanding the nature of guilt we will be on our way to take back control of our thoughts, feelings and lives. This session will also review multiple strategies to combat guilt, whether for yourself or for people you assist, and will invite strategies from participants. We will take an in-depth look at how to use cognitive psychology principles to examine and reframe negative self-talk as a strategy to overcome guilt, including a hands-on exercise.
I had the honor of illustrating this CD, and I can attest to its effectiveness, and also to Karen’s comforting and gentle nature, and it’s my pleasure to promote Karen and her CD whenever I can. I’ve written about her on this blog in Heal Your Heart: Coping With the Loss of a Pet covering the content and creation of the CD, and in Heal Your Heart After Pet Loss, a Remarkable CD and Guidebook covering the more personal aspects of Karen’s journey from the loss of first one dog and then another, turning her experience into a creative effort.
You can also visit Karen’s website at HealFromPetLoss.com, or on Twitter.com type in HealFromPetLoss (all one word) to follow events and activities related to pets and the CD.
For extra interest, check out Cozy Inn’s Zen approach to pet care at www.cozyinnpetresort.com.
The Creative Cat 